European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled plans on Monday (September 7) for €200 million ($232 million) of EU investments in Greenland and closer ties with the Danish Arctic territory, which President Donald Trump has insisted should belong to the United States.

Von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday (September 6) for a two-day visit serving as a show of support for the governments of Greenland and Denmark, which have strongly rebuffed Trump’s campaign to acquire the world’s largest island.

The head of the 27-nation European Union's executive body said the EU money would focus on sectors including critical minerals, satellite communications and renewable energy in Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of the Danish realm.

Von der Leyen's visit reflects the increasing geopolitical importance of the Arctic to major powers, such as the United States, Russia, China and Europe, as melting ice opens new shipping routes to make the region’s mineral wealth more accessible.

U.S. President Trump sparked a crisis in U.S.-European ties and turmoil within the transatlantic NATO military alliance this year when he stepped up his demands for the U.S. to control Greenland, arguing that fellow NATO member Denmark could not defend it.

While Denmark is a member of the EU, Greenland left the bloc in 1985. But its people, as Danish citizens, are also citizens of the EU.

The EU has long provided funding to Greenland, mainly to pay for fishing rights and support its education system. The €200 million package represents not only a big increase in funding but a broadening of the sectors that will receive EU cash, according to EU officials.

The Commission has also proposed more than doubling EU funding for Greenland from €225 million in its current seven-year budget to €530 million for the period 2028-2034.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

EU pledges Greenland investments amid Trump's push for control

VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE WITH EUROPEAN UNION (EU) COMMISSION PRESIDENT, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, DENMARK'S PRIME MINISTER, METTE FREDERIKSEN AND GREENLANDIC PRIME MINISTER JENS-FREDERIK NIELSEN, VON DER LEYEN / FREDERIKSEN AND NIELSEN VISITING THE TUSASS PROJECT ON ENHANCING SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY FOR REMOTE REGIONS

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: NUUK, GREENLAND (SEPTEMBER 7, 2026)(EU – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF EUROPEAN UNION (EU) COMMISSION PRESIDENT, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, DENMARK'S PRIME MINISTER, METTE FREDERIKSEN AND GREENLANDIC PRIME MINISTER JENS-FREDERIK NIELSEN, VISITING THE TUSASS PROJECT ON ENHANCING SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY FOR REMOTE REGIONS

2. VARIOUS OF CEREMONY MARKING THE LAUNCH OF THE ENHANCED SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY PROJECT

3. SIGN ABOUT THE ENHANCED SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY PROJECT

4. VON DER LEYEN, FREDERIKSEN AND NIELSEN ENTER ROOM FOR PRESS CONFERENCE (MUTE)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREENLANDIC PRIME MINISTER JENS-FREDERIK NIELSEN, SAYING:

“I am therefore happy to share that we will be signing, we have signed, an updated joint declaration on the EU-Greenland cooperation today, making another significant milestone in our long-standing cooperation. The declaration expands our cooperation goals to include several new sectors, spanning from infrastructure and connectivity to maritime management to civil preparedness and more.”

6. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, SAYING:

“It is 200 million euros of new investments for Greenland this year and next year, and this partnership package focuses mainly on three domains, or strategic priorities, we call them the big Cs: connectivity, clean energy, critical raw materials.”

8. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, SAYING:

“And I want to start with the joint declaration. I think it reflects a clear choice, expressed by Greenland to strengthen the ties with the European Union in line with your values, your freedom and your interests. But let me tell you, it also shows a very strong interest of Europe to have made a choice too. The choice to be more present and to be more engaged in Greenland and in the Arctic.”

10. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREENLANDIC PRIME MINISTER JENS-FREDERIK NIELSEN, SAYING:

“Greenland needs the European Union and the European Union needs Greenland. This was one of the main messages I expressed to the European Parliament in my speech in Strasbourg last year. I firmly believe this to be true. We need each other.”

12. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, SAYING:

“The European Union stands in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. We will continue to do so and we want to be very clear and repeat again here that Greenland's future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide, no one else. Territorial integrity, sovereignty, the inviolability of borders, these are fundamental principles of international law. And we know that the Arctic has become one of the places where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide. So we have a direct stake in what happens here. That is why we are preparing a new EU-Arctic strategy to be presented this autumn. It will set out our vision for the Arctic and for a stronger partnership with Europe's northern neighbourhood.”

14. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DENMARK'S PRIME MINISTER, METTE FREDERIKSEN, SAYING:

“So we would like to work closer together with the U.S. on security and defence but we of course would also like to work even closer together with our European allies and that is exactly what we’re doing in the Arctic region now.”

16. PRESS CONFERENCE ENDS, VON DER LEYEN, NIELSEN AND FREDERIKSEN HUG AND LEAVE